We all have different tricks of the trade to keep on track when balancing our active lifestyles and what better way than to keep & log everything onto the one device you most likely carry at all times… your phone! Sadly this post applies to iPhone users (sorry Droid :-/), but Google search says that nearly 2 billion people own iPhones now. Totally kidding, we just made that up.. but I bet there’s a good chunk of you out there.

Here are the CYS team’s top picks for maintaining your active lifestyle & utilizing your phone to its fitness potential!

Yes, there are plenty of apps out there that help you keep a running log, but free apps make your life, sweatfests, and wallet much more harmonious. Regardless, we here at CA Yoga Sport are very impressed with what Nike+ has to offer… C’mon all the cool kids are doing it.

For starters, Nike+ has the expected features of recording pace, time, & distance for indoor & outdoor runs. It tracks your pace at each mile marker, maps your run, & feeds stats back to you at your requested increments during the run (i.e. every mile or every 5 minutes). It also offers options to challenge yourself to run longer, farther, or faster than your previous runs & beat your personal records! Power songs also available to push you through that last mile or minute! How’s that for self-motivation?!

What’s even more awesome, if you aren’t already convinced, is that you can challenge your friends & upload your results to Nike+.com or other social platforms, like Facebook or Twitter. They seemed to have read our minds for what any runner would need to keep motivated during and after a run! CA Yoga Sport suggests uploading your runs & getting friends involved in the App to keep yourself accountable & continue to challenge yourself to push the limits of your fitness goals!

Yoga Mind Body & Group Fitness Mind Body are incredibly useful apps for those yogis and athletes on the go. We can relate to unpredictable schedules & work out routines (early birds or late night gym rats) so we like to stay on track by making sure we hit the mat wherever life may take us… literally. These two Mind Body Apps are designed to locate classes available in real time that are nearest you (set it at 5 miles or 10+ miles from your current location). This way if you feel stretched for time to make it all the way home for your regular 5:30pm Pilates class you can find several studios near your current location that have classes available. No more hassle of fishing through multiple studio websites to find out when & where a Hot Flow Yoga or Cardio Blast class is taking place. Just open up Mind Body & you’re there!

Livestrong is one of many iPhone Calorie Tracker apps that you can find online these days. This basic & simple calorie tracker helps log & keep you on track for any dietary goals. Record what and when you eat along with tracking any physical activity for the day. Keeping a daily food log is helpful for anyone looking to improve their eating habits or those trying to stay on track for any muscle building, weight loss, or fitness goals. Try this app out and guaranteed you will feel a greater sense of self awareness of what you are putting into your body and how this is effecting that day or week’s work out. Remember that Diana our Health Coach is on hand for any dietary advice or counseling to reach your athletic and health goals!

Well funny you ask because that is essentially what GainFitness_ is all about. It allows you to carry tailored personal training sessions wherever you go. How cool is that?! It allows you to personalize your workouts that will fit your goals, needs, & time frame. First input all of your measurements to get your profile started along with your fitness goals – Health & Longevity, Fat Loss, Muscle, etc.. Then to get started on an individual work out for the day you just simply type in the time you have to work out (i.e. 30 minutes, 1 hour), what type of work out you are looking for (i.e. full body, upper body) or use the option of selecting a fat burning work out or a full body blaster regimen, and let the app do the rest. It shows you warm up exercises and guides you through the personal training session with demonstrations, photos, and detailed intervals, sets, and reps that are instantly mapped out for you. Imagine if your personal trainer only cost you $2.99… well now it does!

Let us know if you have any personal favorite apps that you’ve found effective & useful to keep your active lifestyle on track! We here at CA Yoga Sport would love to hear about it!